Over the years, especially in recent years, I’ve had a recurring problem with painful leg and foot cramps first thing in the morning, sometimes so severe that when I stood up my big toe would be pointing 80° up in the air. If you search Google for cramp remedies, you’ll find things that work like magic for some people but are no help at all for others. Often the reported solution is either supplementing with an electrolyte, drinking more water, or stretching, massaging, and/or strengthening the affected muscles.
I think I’ve figured out, tentatively, that increasing my sodium intake works for me, or at least it seems to have worked over the last couple of months.
From experiment and observation, I’m pretty sure I’ve identified caffeine as the likely cause, or at least one strongly implicated precursor to my cramps. Whether this is because caffeine interferes with electrolyte absorption, or it has a dehydrating effect, or it’s some combination or some other mechanism entirely, I don’t know. All I know is, based on evidence so far, I seem to get the cramps when I’ve been consuming caffeine, and not when I haven’t.
The problem is, I sometimes have a hard time functioning without the stimulant effect of caffeine. I mean a really hard time. Do I “need” caffeine? That’s debatable. Certainly I have a strong wish not to abstain entirely.
I tried replacing my regular salt with “Morton Lite” salt, which is half sodium and half potassium. That didn’t help. I tried magnesium supplements. That didn’t help either.
Then for grins I tried drinking cups of broth made with bouillon. Broth is sometimes recommended for people who get the “keto flu” when they try a low-carb diet, because one of the first things that happens is that your body loses sodium. I hadn’t gotten the keto flu when I started eating low-carb, and I thought I was eating plenty of salt, so it hadn’t occurred to me that I needed more sodium. But wouldn’t you know, on days when I consume caffeine, a cup or two of bouillon seems to stave off the cramps the next morning.
That said, I don’t want to declare victory prematurely. Let’s see how things look over the next few months.
The brand of bouillon I use is Herb-Ox. I get the packets rather than the cubes, because the granulated form dissolves much more easily. Usually I combine it with water in a mug, and I heat the mug in the microwave. I use the chicken flavor. I’ve tried the beef flavor and don’t care for it.
I have Crohn’s disease and an ostomy. I loose a lot of fluid through my ostomy. I have found that boullion gets rid of my leg cramps too. It works almost immediately (within an hour the cramps start to cease). I like the vegetable broth better than chicken or beef. I’m definitely low on some electrolyte/s.
Thanks for sharing! I might try the vegetable broth when I’ve used up my chicken bouillon.
I’m am old healthy distance swimmer, I’ve found that as I entered my 70’s early morning cramp was getting worse. I normally drink 2/3 cans (of 4.7%) beer 5 evenings a week. I’ve research cramp & discovered that often the main cause is the lack of electrolytes in my blood stream . I regularly drink coconut water, eat bananas twice a week & regularly eat melon. So I’ve deduced that it must be salt lacking in my diet. I’ve started taking a teaspoon of powdered Bullion in half a pint of warm water each evening I drink beer; so far I relieved to report this bullion has eliminated my early morning cramp!
Thank you for sharing this information. I am having terrible problems with leg cramps and stiffness since starting keto and intermittent fasting, but the benefits and weight loss are too welcomed to give up. So I will start drinking Knorr chicken bullion during fasting hours and before bedtime in the hope of getting some relief.
Sorry it took so long to approve your comment! I hope you find/found relief for your leg cramps.